Toxic, carcinogenic pollution that pours from 25,000 road outflows into rivers in England is being ignored by politicians and regulators, MPs have been told.
Road runoff containing toxic particles from tyres and brakes, and pollution from fuel and oil spills – which washes into rivers after rainfall – can devastate aquatic life and, by increasing toxicity, reduce the overall health of waterways. It is responsible for 18% of the reason all rivers fail to meet good ecological and chemical standards.
But unlike sewage pollution from overflows, pollution from highways runoff is not regulated or monitored by the Environment Agency, despite obligations for the regulator to address sources of river pollution, MPs on the environmental audit committee were told.
There is not a single permit for a highways discharge in England, unlike water company sewage outflows, which are monitored and regulated by the agency.
Jo Bradley, director of operations at Stormwater Shepherds, told MPs that runoff from the road network was toxic, carcinogenic and contained heavy metals, hydrocarbons and microplastics. Of the 25,000 outflows from roads, she told MPs National Highways had identified 126 as high risk, and said they would attempt to mitigate the toxic pollution from them by 2030.
But Bradley said: “All 25,000 of these outflows are causing toxic pollution every time it rains. While sewage pollution attracts all the attention and coverage – with £56bn earmarked to address it, just a few million is invested into addressing pollution from these 25,000 road outfalls.
“This pollution contains microplastics, hydrocarbons, toxic metals and chemicals. It is carcinogenic, it gets into the water system … but no one is measuring these harms. No one is interested.”
The Cunliffe review into the water sector does not significantly address the toxic pollution from road runoff, the committee heard. Bradley said it was important that this pollution was addressed in the white paper which would comes from the review.
The Guardian has mapped the 25,000 road runoff sites which release a toxic cocktail of damaging chemicals into England’s rivers.
Catherine Moncrieff, head of policy and engagement at the Chartered Institution of Environmental and Water Management, told MPs the problem was flying under the radar. “The problem of highway pollution is increasing, the issue is getting worse.”
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The Environment Agency has said it does not regularly monitor runoff but said it recognised that runoff from highways and urban areas was a serious issue.
Nick Harris, the chief executive of National Highways, said about 250 high-risk sites that needed mitigation by 2030 had been identified out of 1,236 outfalls that had been checked. He said so far 40 sites had been worked on.
“We should care very much about this pollution going into the environment,” he said. “The commitment we have made is to address the high-risk sites by 2030.”
